Introduction to Biological & Evolutionary Perspectives on Personality

Contents

Introduction

One of the main criticisms of most Western personality theories is that
they fall prey to Descartes' mind-body dualism, and treat personality
and almost exclusively psychological. But we also saw some
examples where this was not the case, i.e., the 4 Greek humors, William
Sheldon's 3 somatotypes, and Ayurvedic medicine's 3 doshas.

These theories do not identify the mechanisms of the proposed
relationships between body and personality, and most theories of
personality do not easily account for the origins of personality and personality characteristics. These questions are taken up more
directly by sociobiology, evolutionary psychology, and behavioral
genetics.

"Most people of course, whatever they may say, do not in fact want a
scientific account of human nature and personality at all....Hence they
much prefer the great story-teller, S. Freud, or the brilliant
myth-creator, C. G. Jung, to those who, like Cattell or Guilford, expect
them to learn matrix algebra, study physiological details of the nervous
system, and actually carry out experiments rather than rely on
interesting anecdote, sex-ridden case histories, and ingenious
speculation."
- Hans Eysenck, Psychology Is About People

We are biological creatures. We exist because of our genetics, the food
we've eaten, the air we breathe; we think because of the neurons which
fire in our brains. Is it possible, then, that variations in our biology
may cause the personality differences we observe in behaviour?

Of all the perspectives on personality, chances are that this
perspective will undergo the greatest amount of change and development
in the next 100 years. The topics presented here in this lecture are,
really, in their childhood - the modern attempt to link personality to
biology has been a recent effort.

The biological model does not represent a cohesive, theoretical approach
(compared, say, to the psychoanalytic perspective), but rather is a
collection of efforts looking for links between personality and biology,
and seeking out the origins of human personality and behavior in
evolutionary theory and evidence.

The biological approach is most closely linked to the dispositional
perspective since both attempt to identify underlying, consistent
individual differences.

The main areas of investigation are:

the relationship between genetics and personality

the evolutionary explanations and evidence for the origins of
personality

neuropsychology and personality

other biological functions and processes which influence human
psychology and personality

Major themes & assumptions of the biological
perspective

There are three general thrusts to the biological perspective:

Many personality characteristics are genetically determined

Behavioural tendencies derive from our evolutionary history

Human behaviour produced is by a complex biological system
(e.g. hormones, neurotransmitters)